Who knew bribery was such an effective tool?? Thanks for all the astounding reviews for Chap. 12. For your kindness: your reward is here in 18 pages of um, you'll see. Please keep reviewing! They're some of my favorite things….
Disclaimer: I am not Charlaine Harris. I don't own her stories, characters, or intellectual property….. I do however like to dress up like her on the weekends and play with her imaginary friends. Please don't sue!!!
Chapter 13
I was annoyed at myself as I finished my flight. I had never forced a woman to be with me. They usually came to me on their knees, begging for my companionship, which often led to them doing other things to me while on their knees. That was before though. Back then I would go through females like Bill goes through hair gel.
She had had multiple conflicting emotions during my rest. As seemed to be my usual routine as of late, I opened our bond as I slept, and I could tell She was on a roller-coaster of sorts during the day. I felt Her humor, Her stubborn streak, I had felt Her lust (ugh.), and nausea (which I hadn't felt in hundreds of years). At one point I became alarmed because I could tell that She was terrified about some turn of events. The dirt that covered my body had felt as though it weighed several tons as I struggled to be of any sort of assistance to Sookie. I had to force my body not to move when I remembered that the dirt was my only guard from death.
The fear led to relief which again led to lust. I howled in my shallow grave, but mostly ended up with dirt and dust in my mouth. It was disgraceful to react in such a manner to this woman. I had never met a woman who would not yield to me in all of the years that I have walked the earth.
So as I landed in Miami, windblown and covered with grime I decided it was best to take my next steps cautiously. Gawking onlookers pointed, wide-eyed as I made an over-ocean approach, gliding smoothly onto the sand. I threw off my shirt and pants and jogged to the water's edge in light blue skivvies, dunking under the swell to rid my body of the filth that coated my skin. The water tickled my nerve endings and I recalled the years I had lived here so long ago.
I hustled back out of the water to check my internal radar for Sookie. She was close, but not nearby. Shit, I thought. She was no longer in South Beach. I could breathe minute traces of Her scent though, so I knew She had been here. I took Her scent in, and it was a balm for my battered sense of well-being. I need Her, now.
Without bothering to redress, I followed Her bouquet through the remaining beach-goers and to a luxury hotel situated on the beach. The Ritz, my Sookie does have good taste. I grinned as I made my way into the elevator as the concierge just shook his head. This is the fun part, I chuckled, pressing the button for each floor. Her scent was strong here, and the relief I felt at being so close to Her was tangible. As each door opened I stuck my head out of the elevator to let Her scent guide me to the right floor. On the third floor an older white-haired woman entered the elevator with me. She smiled quietly when she noticed all of the floor buttons lit up.
"You look like a man on a mission," she chose her words carefully.
The door opened to the fourth floor. I stepped out, sniffed delicately, and then returned to the carriage.
"It seems I've lost something very important."
She nodded in understanding. "Can I give you a piece of advice, young man?" I raised an eyebrow at the irony. She continued on without my permission. "Life is short. Keep the things you value by your side, otherwise you'll wake up one day and you'll have forgotten just how important those things really were- and when you do, you won't be able to find them anymore."
I just stared at the woman in silence as the door to the fifth floor slid open. I tore my gaze away from her face and went on the landing. This is Her floor. I turned, and opened my mouth to tell the woman something, but the door had already closed.
Her words were echoing in my head as I searched for Sookie's room. When I discerned her suite, I realized there was a stronger, more present scent that I had missed in my mad dash. My nostrils flared of their own volition. The door wasn't shut tightly. I tried to mentally barricade my nose as I prepared to enter. This would have to be done delicately.
"Claudine," I sang as I swung the door inward.
"Dang it, Eric! Don't you need an invitation to come in here?" Claudine was crouched over a heavy trunk, methodically replacing her things.
"Hotels have different rules, my fairy friend," I murmured as I started to look around the room trying to find some detail that would lead me to my bonded. Tendrils of fairy scent wafted into my sensitive nose. My body was begging me to turn to the fairy, face-on- but I fought the cravings.
"Why are you here Eric? You should put on some pants." I could tell she was angry and that she wished she were anywhere but here with me.
"Why are you here Claudine? Shouldn't you be guarding Sookie?"
"I have business to attend to, Eric. And I don't answer to you."
I strode to the balcony, opening the door to put some fresh air into the room and diffuse the intoxicating scent. "I am looking for Sookie." I felt like a junkie trying not to use a ready needle.
"Do you think I don't know how you hurt Sookie?" Her anger was mounting and her voice rose. I will not look at her. "I know you burned her, Eric. You could have killed her- did you know she blacked out and hurt herself very badly?" I felt a rush of guilt- believe me, not an emotion I am very familiar with. However, I kept my composure externally.
"This is not a game, vampire. This is her life and, fortunately for her, she only gets one. You can't screw with her like some pathetic fangbanger."
"She is no fangbanger to me!" I was trying to stay under control, but this fairy was being extremely insolent.
"That is a lie! Because of your indentured servitude she has been hurt many times and almost killed more times than that. Is she just a slave to you then? Tell me, Northman! You want her- but you want your independence more!" I could feel her pacing back and forth across the room. "It's time to make a decision. If you love someone, you are brave enough to offer your life for theirs. And you sure as heck don't go out of your way to cause that person to suffer."
That stung, and all of my instincts were warring. A pillow flew at my head. I had never received such a scolding, and my body told me to kill her, but my head reminded me that I still needed information.
"Sookie and I have much to discuss, fairy. Tell me where She is?"
"Why? So you can swoop in like a bat out of hell like you always do and ruin the first opportunity she's ever really had to be happy?"
"With who, that no-style human?" I sneered as I remembered the way he looked through her eyes as he kissed her hungrily.
"That human has been better to her in the last few days than any of you have been to her in the last three years. Is it such a horrible fate- to have someone she can cook with? Would it be so awful for her to be able to enjoy the daylight with a man who thinks she's special and not crazy, like most humans do? Or is it the part that he could give her everything she's ever dreamed of that really makes the situation so unbearable for you."
I crouched down with my face outside, sniffing the ocean breeze. "Does She no longer want me?" I squinted my eyes at the night as I asked one question I never dreamed I'd have to ask in a thousand years.
Claudine had paused in her pacing and was silent just a moment too long before she answered, "Give her a chance to be happy, Eric. This man can give her contentment." I took the chance and turned to look at the beautiful fairy. She was fighting tears. "Let the bond close- I know it's weak. It will be better for Sookie. She can't take much more from you…"
I looked out the window again as I pondered her words. But I need Sookie, I thought as I watched Claudine latch her trunks to prepare to leave through the reflection.
"Look, I know you mean well, most of the time, it's just your nature to pillage. All I can tell you is she took a boat to get where she will stay the night, and she'll be back tomorrow. I am going to ask, no beg you; Please don't go looking for her. Give her one more night to be carefree before you shatter her well-being. Better yet, go home. Go home to Shreveport and talk to her when she returns."
Before I could respond, Claudine was gone and I was able to relax from my position half in, half out of the suite. I inhaled greedily that which I had denied myself. I went to Sookie's things, and ran my hands over a creamy nightgown.
Was I taking away Her choices? Did I care? Could I give Her this- even though it would rip me to shreds?
I ruminated over these questions as I grabbed a hotel robe and slippers and headed for the door. I had other needs to take care of. I wandered down the still busy Washington Avenue to find that some stores were still open late. I picked out clothes to wear for the remainder of my stay, though who knew how long that would be? The young brunette behind the counter asked me coyly if I had eaten yet, but I had no hunger that I was aware of.
I decided that I would not chase after Sookie tonight. I would wait for her to come to me, because surely She could feel my nearness, and would recognize my need. I would let Her make the decision, and if She no longer wanted me I would do my best to allow our bond to close.
I reached the hotel I had come to know well in my travels. It was a completely secure, safe boutique hotel called Sanguine Exsanguinations. I needed to check in with Griffith, the Sheriff of this area. How this guy got the gig was a mystery to me. Griffith was a tall, lanky red-head with a serious inferiority complex, and though last I heard he was mainstreaming, I had to wonder how well that was really working out.
Ten minutes later I was walking into Osiris, searching for my old acquaintance. This place is weird, I thought as I looked into the tandem sarcophagi. I gave the bartender my name and waited while he relayed the information to his Sheriff. I was shooing a forty-something, balding, accountant type away when the bartender returned. "Griff told me to let you sample our house special. He's on his way. I'm Sawyer- you Eric Northman from Louisiana? I've heard about you."
I nodded and watched as Sawyer put on thick gloves and unlocked a small silver refrigerator that looked more like a safe than a refrigerator. I was trying to understand why they kept their drinks locked up. His fangs extended as he poured a tumbler half-full of blood from a pitcher which I looked at in disbelief. "I haven't had a drink in well over twenty-four hours young one. I don't think that's going to do it."
"Ah, but this is the Blood of Isis. You will be satisfied," He smirked as he passed the glass across the bar.
I paused and sniffed the liquid. "Is this what I think it is?" I felt my mouth water and my fangs lowering slightly- this explained the scent. Sawyer raised an eyebrow.
I knew he was there long before he said anything. Griffith was behind me and to the right, watching my every move. "Old friend, why don't you come join me," I called over my shoulder without releasing my gaze from the life-giving fluid.
Instantaneously he was at my side. "What brings you to town, Sheriff?"
In my many years, I have found it much better to play your cards close to your chest. "It has been many years since my last vacation, Sheriff. What better destination than your great city?"
Griffith gave me a skeptical look. "And how long do you plan to be in the area?"
"One week at the most, although I have a feeling I may be called back earlier due to business."
"How is business at Fangtasia?" Griffith inquired.
"Good, always good. But it looks like you've come up with a cutting-edge way to push out the competition," I said, raising my glass to him.
He gave me a fangy smile. "I've noticed you haven't tried it yet."
I stuck only the tip of my pinky in the heavenly liquid and pulled it out to sniff the aroma once again. "I don't really know if I'm up to it tonight."
"Long flight?" Griffith asked.
"You might say that." I countered as the heat rose in my body. "Excuse me for a moment," I said to the Sheriff as I walked casually to the restroom. I found it relatively empty and screamed, "Exit," with fangs extended to the males using the toilets.
She was doing it again to me. Her proximity made his face that much clearer in my eyes as I watched their progress. I shut myself in one of the stalls, pleading with body not to lose its temper. How could I let Her do this to me? How could I live through this? Didn't I just decide to let Her have her fun tonight?
***
His warm arms held me tightly as he used an empty finger to unlatch the French door that led to his master suite. With my legs still wrapped firmly around his hips, we entered the darkness of his room. He placed me carefully on the luxurious comforter and said, "Are you sure about this?"
My body responded urgently but there was a curious feeling of emptiness coming from somewhere deep inside of me. I decided to ignore my soul and let my body speak for itself.
"I'm sure about you." I reached up to feel my way through the dark for him. I would ensure that my shields would not slip and ruin this for me, I thought as I found his arm. I traced my fingers down its length and took his hand to my lips. As I kissed his palm, Adrian reached to turn the dim light on so that we could see each other.
He came to rest above me and I craned my neck to reach his lips, they were waiting and his kisses deepened as his mouth became more and more urgent on mine. He worked his way over to my ear, pulling and biting gently on the lobe. I sucked my breath in as I savored the sensation.
"You can bite as hard as you want," I murmured, "I kinda like it…"
Adrian ran his lips and teeth down my neck to my collarbone but didn't bite. It was different without fangs touching skin. Not bad, I told myself, just different.
I ached to be touched as his lips left my neck to unzip my white sundress. He moved with excruciating slowness and it felt as if I could hear each notch of the zipper unlatching, one by one by one. Finally, the zipper was released, and I felt the dress go slack on my sun-kissed skin. I turned to let him watch me as I stared into his face and slowly brought the dress down to the floor.
I could hear Adrian's breathing quicken as I stood in my prettiest matching bra and panty set that was a pale yellow with scalloped lace edges. I let my body take over as I closed the gap between us, unbuckling the leather belt that was a barrier to my release. When he pulled his shorts down and kicked them away with his shoes I reached up to relieve him of his navy blue shirt. He stopped me, saying with a wicked glint in his eyes, "An item for an item."
Okay, that's how he wants to play this, I thought as I smirked up at him. "I guess that means it's my turn," I said as I turned my back to him, offering him my bra for unhooking.
"I want to watch," he said huskily.
I shook my head and responded coyly, "Oh, you will see… Unhook it." I was much more confident in my sexual prowess after my experiences the past few years, and I knew there was much to be said for delayed gratification when it came to sex.
He ran his hands up my back in a way that sent a chill up my spine, and released the hooks of my bra with nimble fingers. I held the bra in my hand, my back still toward the beautiful man and lifted it out to my side, breathing out as I dropped it to the carpet.
Shields up, Sookie, I reminded myself as I had allowed his thoughts to permeate my resolve. He had been thinking that he needed me more than he had ever needed another woman, and that he knew I was teasing him but he didn't know how much longer he could hold out…He thought I was beautiful…
That was enough to make my body burn for this man, in a delightful way. I spun around to face Adrian and I had his shirt off in a flash. He responded in kind, feral, uncontrolled noises coming from his throat as he threw me on the bed and lifted my legs up to pull my panties off. His mouth was crushing mine and his hands rubbed, massaged, and stroked every exposed inch of my skin. I pulled myself onto one elbow and used my free hand to yank at his black boxer briefs, crying out in bliss as I rubbed the firm, warm skin of his ass. I gripped it tight, then kneaded down his tree-trunk thighs. He took his lips off my skin momentarily and growled at the feeling.
Before I knew it he was back on me, a hand under my back and his mouth grasping my right nipple. I arched up my back to the suction of his mouth on my breast, and as he took a quick nip at the pink flesh, I batted Eric's face from my mind. He ignored the other breast and licked down my stomach, stopping at my belly button.
"May I?" He asked looking up my body. I had no words left, so I nodded.
I had to put a pillow over my face once he began to lick me. His face lit up when he really looked at me for the first time, and as he stuck an exploratory finger inside of me he whispered, "You're so tight."Next thing I knew he had four fingers inside, all pulsing simultaneously at the ridges of my g-spot, while his tongue and mouth did gymnastics over the top of my clit. I had heard the term hurricane-tongue before, but now I knew exactly what that meant… The pillow was probably the only reason the fire department wasn't called.
I felt myself reaching the brink of an incredibly intense orgasm and I threw the pillow off my face and against the wall. Adrian paused and grinned, saying, "Not so fast!" To my complete devastation he removed his fingers and mouth before I could climax and focused his attentions on my thighs and calves, making goose-bumps rise on my chest.
"Adrian! Please!" I cried as I reached up grabbing his thick cock that felt as hard as a diamond. I was on my knees in front of him as fast as I could and had my mouth around the hot flesh. I cupped his balls and gave him one good suck with a swirl of my tongue around the shaft. He bucked in surprise. I stopped cold, looking up at my tormentor and said, "Finish me, I'll finish you…"
With a hungry look in his eye, Adrian tossed me back down onto my back and his tongue was gliding over my clit even before my head touched the duvet. Again, when I closed my eyes, I saw Eric's face looking down at me. "Lover?" He asked ice-blue eyes blazing, a worried look clouding his face.
"Look at me," Adrian said, "I want you to watch." Oh my God! It was like Eric was speaking through Adrian, and I didn't know how to feel. I screamed silently as I peeled my eyes open at look down at Adrian, who was waiting patiently for my attention. As he locked his cherry-chocolate eyes on mine, I tried to lose myself in the sensations that were taking over. My toes curled over the end of the bed at the explosive climax I was approaching, and I cried out at my warring emotions. I let go and rode the out of body ecstasy to completion, and the spasms I felt between my legs were the only things that let me know I was still inside of my skin.
Adrian was kissing me then, and I opened my shields up, just a little, to make sure I was still in reality.
I could do that to her all night if she would come that same way each time… We should stay in bed for days…
Locking my shields back into place, I stood up and pulled Adrian by his ass over with me out the French doors and onto the patio. He moaned softly as I took his cock firmly in both hands and positioned him against the wall, my back to the elements. "A little birdie told me you like exotic things…" I whispered up to him as I lowered myself down on my knees to the ground.
I took the tip of this penis in my mouth with stiff lips, drawing pictures on the head with my tongue. He's ready to play, I thought to myself as I caressed the base of his shaft with one hand and cupped his balls with the other. His fingers tangled in my loose locks when I took as much of him into my mouth as possible. "My God," Adrian moaned when I started to release him, then licked a bit further down the shaft than I had previously. I felt myself hum in pleasure as he grew even more rigid in my mouth and I could tell he was close to completion. When his fingers tightened in my hair and I knew he was seconds away, I took my mouth off of his cock and stopped, looking up at him.
"Something wrong?" I taunted as his eyes became saucers, the picture of shock. I shrugged, as he seemed to be unable to string a sentence together, and lowered my head to focus on his balls. I took them in my mouth and tongued them until I could feel his knees shaking.
"Sookie! Play fair!" He cried when I glanced back up at him with an evil grin.
"All's fair in love… and war," I quoted, submitting to his request. I latched back on to his penis firmly, sucking for all I was worth. Soon his breathing sped back up and his hands twisted in my hair, and all I needed was several more licks before he came inside of my mouth murmuring my name all the while. My legs were tired so I allowed myself to sit down on the patio, once there I thought it best to lay the rest of the way down. Before I knew it, Adrian was on his back next to me.
"That was probably the best orgasm I've ever had," he said, out of breath.
I peered sideways at him from slightly parted lashes. "Mmm?" I said drunkenly.
He turned onto his side and started rubbing his hand over my skin while I pondered why I thought I had heard Eric's voice earlier. I couldn't believe I was suffering from delusions of that nature- I mean, I heard voices all the time, but it truly had felt like he was there. I felt my nipples harden in the gentle breeze when Adrian stroked the tips of my breasts.
I turned to my side and reached out with my fingers to touch his length. He was on the rise. He licked his lips seductively as I whispered, "Are you ready for round two?"
"For you, the world," He responded as he was kissing my already dripping wet pussy again.
"Come inside of me," I begged, my body calling for his. He held up a finger, ran back inside the room and returned with a condom and a pillow, which he placed under my still-sore head. Without a word he rolled the condom onto himself and was thrusting into me. He was wide, but it was pure delight when he easily hit my deepest wall. I moaned his name as he began grinding down on me over and over, angling his body so that he rubbed my clit as he pushed in. I held on to his biceps as the intensity increased, and he leaned down to nip and suck at my nipples. It was overwhelming, like his body was made to fit mine, like all these malfunctioning parts came together to work perfectly when he was deep inside of me.
I closed my eyes and angled my head back so that my nipples were that much more accessible to Adrian's mouth, and as I did, Eric's voice knocked me out of my reverie. Sookie, my Lover, he will never be yours as I am yours… I looked around wildly to find Eric, but quickly realized he was in my head. A thrust and a grind to the top of my clit reminded me who was making love to me and I shook my head minutely to push Eric out. I waited… You never came for me, I rather foolishly scolded the delusion in my head. I loved you… You cared nothing for me, I thought stupidly, because if you can't be honest in your own brain, where can you be honest?
I ignored the sharp ache from my heart as I lost myself in the moment with Adrian, grasping that gorgeous ass in my hands and thrusting in synch with him. He pulled me to a sitting position, and we wrapped our legs around each other, mouth against mouth, tongue tasting tongue, bodies melting together as we both came at the exact same moment in time.
The sex had exhausted me, and I lay my head on his shoulder, still in his lap with his penis somewhere deep inside of me.
He lifted me up and carried me back inside the room, laying me gently under the covers of the king-sized bed. I giggled under my breath, king-sized, that certainly was an apt way of putting things.
Adrian was cuddled up behind me, and slowly brushed my long, thoroughly tousled hair to the side with his fingers. "What happened here, beautiful woman?" He asked as he stroked along my back.
Drowsy with pleasure, I answered without thinking, knowing he was referring to the pale scars that marred my back, "You ever heard of a maenad?"
He sucked in his breath and after a long pause responded, "Those creatures do not exist except in myth."
I turned and looked Adrian dead on, saying, "I told you there were worse things than guns, Adrian."
"But Felix-" Adrian was cut off when the pounding started from the hallway. Oh no, is he here? I threw the covers over my head and tossed my shields aside to read for mental (or lack of mental) signatures. It was three humans. Thank God! I was elated when I realized it was Felix and friends, so I removed the blankets that were a flimsy shelter to begin with.
Someone knocked loudly on the door, in rapid succession. Felix's voice shouted loudly, "Adrian, it's time. Get your ass out here!!! We have somewhere to be!!!"
"Do you mind?" Adrian asked with a gleam in his eye, "I gotta see what he's got planned!"
"Get going!" I urged, "But maybe you should put some shoes on…" I winked at Adrian as I imagined him leaving the house in only his sneakers.
"I'll be back soon, I think. Will you wait up for me?"
"I'll try," I said, thinking I would be lucky to be awake for even another hour.
"You and Amelia help yourselves to anything in the house, movies, food, pool, anything that's mine is yours," He said as he threw on some True Religion jeans and a white v-neck shirt with sneakers.
***
After I had cleaned myself up in the fairy-free bathroom I went to see what Amelia was up to. She was parked in the theatre room with a bucket of popcorn and can of Dr. Pepper immersed in the newest Judd Apatow movie.
When I entered she put it on pause. She waggled her brows at me and said, "Somebody looks relaxed!" I couldn't hold back the grin as I ignored her and hopped over the cushy couch, grabbing a handful of buttery popcorn.
"Which one is this? The one with the penis humor or the one with the cursing?" I asked.
"A little from Column A, a little from Column B," she replied.
"Love it!"
"Well you sure are in a stellar mood," She pried, without prying.
"Let's just say things are looking up for me," I responded demurely.
After the hilarity ensued, and the movie was over, Amelia and I decided it would be fun to cook for the guys. "I rarely get to cook for human men!" I joked as we looked over the contents of their refrigerator and decided to make lasagna with garlic bread and a caesar salad.
"Can I be of any assistance?" A baritone voice called from behind where we were assembling our ingredients.
"Perry!" Amelia said, "You scared me!" The older gentleman wandered around the kitchen island to us and all of a sudden Claudine's pre-empted caution rang through my head.
"I am sorry to have surprised you," He said. "I must admit it isn't often that I see others cooking in this kitchen."
"I hope its okay," Amelia was looking admiringly at the Merman and wondering if she could buy a gill or two from him. Everybody has their price right?
"No," Perry stated, opening the pantry and surveying its contents. "I think it is just wonderful. These boys haven't had a real woman's influence in many years. Just a lot of, what is the term? Gold-miners?"
"Ah, gold-diggers?" I supplied, picturing Prada-wearing social climbers wearing hardhats with flashlights attached, lugging shovels along a dusty road.
"That must be hard, to lose your mom at such a young age," Amelia said as she started mincing garlic on a cutting board.
Hello! Parents died in a flash flood! I was thinking a bit bitterly in Amelia's direction and then wondered if it would be better to lose your mom the way I lost mine or if it would be better to lose her Adrian's way. At least that way she'd still get to be alive. "It was incredibly difficult on both of the boys, but it seemed to have changed Felix for a long time. I barely saw him for a good five years, but once he returned his spirit seemed to have healed a bit… When his father passed, I worried it would take him back to that dark time. I think his reuniting with Adrian helped out a lot."
I paused from where I was browning the meat, "Oh no Perry! I forgot that you were a vegetarian- I was hoping that you could join us for a late, late dinner. You know what? I'll make half of the lasagna without meat- will that work?"
"You are too kind, Ms. Stackhouse. You don't have to cook for me, though you probably don't realize just how much I appreciate the offer. However, I must ask, how did you know I'm a vegetarian?"
I gulped trying to come up with a suitable response as Amelia jumped in, "Give it up Perry! We know you're a Merman." Perry started looking around wildly for the nearest exit. "Calm down! We don't want to hurt you. You really didn't think that Claudine would tell us?"
"I, ah, I don't know what you are talking about! What did you call me? Merman? Is that some sort of new fad with the teenagers going on right now?" You had to hand it to him for trying, but the dude couldn't lie to save his own life. Light bulb moment: And that is why they are going extinct!
Perry seemed to recognize that we weren't buying what he was selling, and backed up. "Please, don't tell the brothers! They can't know my true identity; it would mean the end of my life." He was stacking and unstacking multiple cans and sauces at breakneck speed and I watched in stunned silence. Was this some sort of OCD thing?
"Why was Claudine with you anyway? Sookie, I have heard whisperings of your name and heard of your abilities both from internal and external factions, and I must say you have my respect, but who are you in all of this?" He was pointing a long reedy finger at Amelia.
"I am just a girl from Louisiana, a friend of Sookie's along for the ride." I was still pondering the whole internal and external factions thing when Amelia surprised me with her omission. I kept my face blank as I added Amelia's garlic and some fresh onions to the meat while Amelia finished the salad.
"It is a hard life," Perry continued guardedly, leaving the jars back in their original places and drooping onto a barstool. "Almost everyone I know, excuse me knew, has been murdered. Merpeople are considered to be such a prize that there is a bounty for our heads in nearly every race. And when I say for our heads, I literally mean for our heads."
"How awful," I muttered trying to imagine having to conceal your true self from nearly everyone you meet. "How come you weren't scared of Claudine?"
Perry's face lit up at the mention of my fairy godmother. "Claudine will be an angel, I can guarantee that. She is almost as pure in spirit as the original Merfolk, I have watched her seraph-morph progress for many years now. I don't know if you realize this, but not all of her kind are as noble as she."
"She is something else," I confirmed as Amelia and I finished lining the pan with layers of noodles, sauce, and on half of the pan, with meat. Amelia grabbed the lasagna and placed it in the oven while I set the timer.
"You ladies are like a well-oiled machine," Perry remarked.
"We should be," Amelia said, "We're roommates. Y'all want something to drink?" She asked Perry and me as she went to the 'fridge for a Dr. Pepper refill.
"Water for me please," I said while Perry just looked dumbfounded.
"Perry? Do Mermen drink?"
E cleared his throat, "Uh, sure. I would love a glass of juice." He looked from Amelia to me and then back again. "Are you sure you're not planning to kill me?"
I placed the tips of my fingers together in a spot-on Mr. Burns impersonation and turned to Amelia, "Did you remember to lace the OJ with powdered oleander?"
"But of course!"
"Exxx-cell-ent."
As we cracked up, Perry face went from one of shock to one of laughter. We spent the next half an hour debating the pros and cons of ocean versus freshwater swimming and how Perry managed to stay under the radar (moonlight pool swimming). His schedule was quite a bit different than that of the shifters, though he had on occasion had opportunity to swim with some of the local water-weres he had come to trust. He assured us that were-manatees were by far the most honorable of the water-weres and that if you were content to swim all of two miles per hour, you would have a lovely companion.
"Oh, lasagna's finished!" Amelia sang happily as the timer went off and she pulled the pan out of the oven. "When do you think they'll be home?" Amelia asked Perry.
"I honestly have no idea where they went, but Felix has been pretty amped up about this whole trip for a while now. One never knows what Felix has planned…" Perry looked down at his hands drumming the polished granite.
"I hope I'm not interfering too much here," I asked hesitantly, "But I was wondering what the issue is between you and Felix?" Amelia turned to look up from where she was buttering a loaf of French bread.
"I don't think I should be the one to tell you this story, ladies. Maybe you should ask Adrian about it…" His voice trailed off as his eyes watered a little bit.
"Oh, Perry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you in any way."
"I know, it's been such a long time since anybody but Adrian has shown me such kindness… These boys would be lucky to have you ladies in their lives." He hesitated then said, "Amelia, you are the first woman Felix has shown this sort of gentle interest in since he first returned home."
I tried to imagine Felix any other way than the fun-loving adventurer I knew now. "Really?" She squeaked.
"Yes, you must be a special girl, a very special girl in fact. I can read people pretty well; it is one of my gifts. Would you tell me about your gift Sookie?"
I relayed the facts of my telepathy to Perry, length, human to human communication, the supe-blockage, etc. I told him that his thoughts were opaquely veiled and were presented in a language I had never-before heard. He grinned at that, calling it Finnish, which Amelia thought was hysterical. He looked panicky when I told him about my shields and how I needed to use them to get along in society.
He was saying, "You mustn't keep your shields up on a constant basis, Ms. Stackhouse! There is much out there for you to be wary of and you can't-" But was cut of f by yelling and screaming coming from the front door.
The sounds were the unmistakable noises of fear, panic and desperation. "What the hell is going on??" I yelled as we three raced toward the heavy front door. Perry unlocked the deadbolt deftly and had the door open in an instant.
"Nononononono!" Amelia was beyond words when we saw what lay beyond the doors. All of the men were strapped with weapons and knives, and all of the men were dragging something. Adrian and Austin were each hauling enormous blackened parcels into the house, while Ethan and Felix pulled in medium-sized hefty bundles.
It was then that I noticed that the bundles were leaking… And they had legs- well at least half of them did. One had a tail.
"Just get them in the house!" Felix was looking prouder than a new father and smiling as he pulled his take into the kitchen.
"What the FUCK is this?" Adrian was screaming as I tried to take in the horrifying picture before me. "What did you have us do?!!"
"I am gonna kill you, you sonofabitch," Ethan shouted as he placed his load on the tile and raced forward to Felix, punching him in the jaw and knocking him to the floor. As he started kicking Felix, Perry stepped forward to grab Ethan's arms and hold him off of Felix. What I had seen as black was red. The bodies were covered in blood.
Austin just collapsed on the floor, his face bloody, looking as green as a human can look. "You are a psychopath!!" Ethan screamed and spat on Felix.
Felix started laughing maniacally from the floor, "And he's one of them too! I know your secret." He pointed up at Perry. His face changed to deadly, "And guess what, you're next you vile piece of waste."
Perry closed his eyes and released Ethan, who resumed kicking Felix.
"He knew what he was taking us to do." Austin said blankly. "This was his plan all along. I'm a murderer." He turned to his side and threw up on the imported floor.
Amelia was clutching my arm like I was her only lifeline as the voices filtered in.
We were hunting! These were fucking animals- I saw them, I swear I did!
I'm going to jail for murder….. I can't believe it… They're gonna fry all of our asses… He's cut clear in half… Oh my God!
Now they have to believe me… Three more of those wretched creatures will never set foot on the earth again…
One mind was going over the course of events in minute detail.
I shouted, "Pythons? You were hunting pythons??"
All the heads in the room snapped up to look at me as if noticing Amelia and me for the first time. "Sookie!" Adrian blurted out, "Oh, my God! You've got to get out of here- I don't want you going down for this!"
Ethan interjected, "I'm not going down for shit! We gotta get rid of these, whatever the fuck these things are!"
"They are called shifters you idiots!" Amelia screamed, shaking like a leaf. "And they are just humans that change at the full-moon. And now they're dead because of you!" I'd forgotten it was the full moon.
One of the were-pythons was twitching slightly and I heard Felix right as he was going for his bowie knife. "Adrian, stop him! He's got a knife in his back right pocket!"
Adrian dove for his brother, but Felix was faster. He had the knife out in a flash and slashed deep down Adrian's forearm. Adrian winced in disbelief as Felix lurched forward and took the one lone barely living shifter into his arms, his hands holding his head and steadying his body with a knife to the neck.
"How did you know about my knife?" Felix said calmly from the floor. "HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THE KNIFE?!" He screamed at me and Amelia stepped in front of me, shielding my face with her arm.
Perry had been bent over looking at the bodies. "You owe this man nothing, Sookie," he said rising slowly.
I can't go to jail…. A disconsolate voice pierced my brain.
I shook my head to try to empty the extra voices and center in on Felix. He was singularly focused and that probably scared me more than anything.
I stepped around Amelia, who immediately collapsed against Perry. "Amelia, that one is still alive, if only for a few more minutes. Is there anything you can do?" Adrian, Felix, and Perry all looked in confusion. Ethan was kicking and breaking everything in sight in a wild rage, and Austin just clutched the torso of a body to his chest that he had brought in.
"No. NO! Not you too! You are not one of them!" Felix was panicking and dug the knife deeper into the nearly lifeless shifter's neck and blood started coursing down the blade and over Felix's hand.
Amelia just looked up at Perry and shook her head, then sprinted up the stairs to get her supplies. "She's a witch, Felix." Felix looked as devastated as a madman can look.
"And I'm a Telepath," I said as calmly as I could muster. "And you've done it. You've proven to your brother that these things exist." I couldn't make the connection though.
I lowered myself to his level, and Adrian and Ethan had enough sense to grab the guns they had dropped on the way in and point them in Felix's direction as I crawled closer to Felix. His once beautiful face was the picture of fury as I gingerly put a hand on his foot, which he immediately used to kick me in the face. Ethan's gun fired once at the wall above Felix's head. I fell backward and tried to stem the flow of blood from my temple, while Adrian leapt onto his brother's legs, leaning over the dying man to try to wrestle the knife out of his hands. While they wrestled, Perry and Ethan came from the other side to grasp at the left arm and leg of the shifter and pull him out of the melee.
Everything I've worked for will be gone…
"SHUT UP!" I screamed at the nearly comatose Austin, the taste of hot blood in my mouth. "I'm trying to listen!!"
Adrian had the advantage in the fight of better position, so it wasn't long before he'd finagled the knife from his brother's hand and scooted it out of arms reach on the floor, placing Felix in a wrestling hold. Austin finally had the presence of mind to find his recently discarded gun on the floor and hold it, albeit half-heartedly in Felix's direction with the hand that wasn't holding onto the headless torso for dear life.
"Do it Sookie, do whatever you were gonna do!" Adrian called from behind Felix who had not given up with the struggle. "Perry, get his legs!" Perry lurched forward and put his knees on Felix's flailing limbs. I clutched the side of my face and approached Felix cautiously.
"Why did you do this? Do you know these people?"
"FILTHY WHORE!" He shouted and his spittle flying out misted my battered face. "You are nothing! You are dirt under my toenail!" Luckily his mind yielded much greater results than his words did as I clamped a hand on his shin.
"Your mother…" I started, "He thinks your mother ran away with a shifter! He's been hunting them ever since he left school…"
"I don't think! I know! That slut left ME for some pathetic excuse for a human." He was looking at nothing as I saw the paranoia in his eyes.
"He's been trying to convince us for years that there were other things out there…" Adrian said from behind Felix.
"I watched her ride in on his back! I thought he was a surprise for my birthday!" He was a child for a moment. That immediately changed to arrogance, "She was trash, and now they are dead."
It's over… Lily's won't have me… I ignored Austin's lament.
"What was the man, Sookie?" Adrian stuttered out.
"Grizzly."
He looked disgusted and asked, "All those trips to the mountains?" A wicked smile lit Felix's face.
"And father? Was he part of this?" Oh my lord… Felix's face said everything… but his mind said much more. A rush of nausea hit me and I told myself to hold on.
"How long have you been killing shifters?" I interrogated, trying to change the subject before I lost it.
Felix roared up at me, trying to break through Adrian's hold to reach me. "It's been the last twelve years since he murdered his first," I relayed, the images sickening me of kills gone wrong, gutted bears that were just that, bears. His smugness when the first shifter turned back human after he executed it. It was a stray cat. His kill rate had gotten more and more successful and he moved on to more exotic animals.
"Why did you call the pythons Nhang," Ethan asked as Amelia rushed back into the room.
"People think they're just pet-store cast-offs," Felix said, his smugness radiating off in waves. "That's bullshit! They're Persian serpent-monsters!"
"You, Ethan, help me!" Amelia opened the glass container that held an aromatic paste in it. Adrian looked over at what she was doing.
"Please, Amelia! I don't know what you can do, but if you can save him…" He pleaded.
I have ruined my family name…
"You." Felix growled.
Amelia ignored him as she started muttering a chant under her breath and rubbing the salve on the shifter's wounds.
"Where did you find the pythons?" Perry asked no one in particular.
"They were in the Everglades… I think they were mating…" Austin mumbled hysterically.
"YOU!" Felix screamed at Amelia, "You're worse than all of them! You made yourself a freak!" In Adrian's haste to watch the healing process, he had loosened Felix's arms. Felix bucked with inhuman strength and Perry and I were both flung in the opposite direction as he lunged for the knife.
"Amelia!" I shrieked as I grabbed Perry and pulled him with me on top of the one and a half other bodies behind the island.
Last I could see, Felix had the knife and Adrian was trying to stop him from stabbing Amelia. I heard several screams and a shot.
Nonononononono! I was shaking wildly on my stomach, on top of the dead shifter. Amelia. Adrian. Nonononono. Nononononono, I felt the tears as they coursed down my blood-stained cheeks.
Eric, if you are here, I need you.
"He's dead," Perry had looked around the corner and was hugging me tightly to his chest.
I didn't want to ask, but I did anyway though it was barely audible. "Who? Who is dead?"
There is nothing left… I have nothing…
A calm filled my body and I waded into a lake of serenity. I was overflowing with strength and finally able to peer around the blood-stained kitchen island.
"Are you okay around vampires?" I asked a stunned Perry before I allowed myself to look. He just nodded his head. "That's good." I continued on my way on my knees to inspect the death toll.
Austin had fallen on his side in his vomit and was vibrating with violent tremors. Amelia was rocking back and forth, in shock, yet attempting to apply her salve to Adrian who was bleeding from multiple slashes all over his body. Thank God, I breathed when I realized we were out of immediate danger.
Felix was still leaning against the counter, a bullet hole centered perfectly in the middle of his forehead, empty eyes still open.
I have nothing…. I have nothing…
Invite me in…
I was confused at the two tenors of the voices, but managed to call out, "Do come in," lightly to the front door. I knew he'd hear me. He always heard me. With a crack and a splintering thud the heavy wood was rammed off of its hinges and fell inward, cracking the marble of the floor.
It's over…
At the exact moment that Eric reached my side, lifting me into the safety of his cool arms, another bullet burned through the chaos of the night.
**Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for sticking with me… Review for me?**
-SJ